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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29063628">I'm Cool to Watch Atlas Burn</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/buoyantsaturn/pseuds/buoyantsaturn'>buoyantsaturn</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>bring on the monsters [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alive Bianca di Angelo, Canon Rewrite, Hunters of Artemis, M/M, Minor Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 08:33:45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>12,117</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29063628</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/buoyantsaturn/pseuds/buoyantsaturn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Bianca's been having a lot of private conversations with Chiron.<br/>Nico won't hold anybody's hand but Will's.<br/>Will might be 13, but sometimes he still acts like he's 10.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bianca di Angelo &amp; Nico di Angelo, Nico di Angelo &amp; Will Solace, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>bring on the monsters [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2125926</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>85</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hey folks! it's titans curse time and yes i know i skipped a book but that was intentional for timeline purposes (dw if i remember correctly sea of monsters should be next)<br/>to all yall who arent happy with teh way ive been swapping different characters into lead roles, boy do i think you're gonna hate this one! enjoy!!<br/>also!! title from atlas drowned by gang of youths</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>When Nico turned twelve, he decided that he was suddenly too old for hand holding. Sometimes Bianca would reach out for his hand as they climbed the stairs out of the Underworld, or even just on the walk between the dining pavilion and the Big House, but Nico would always snatch his hand away. He had led a quest across the country, he was training with the best warriors in Elysium (and Punishment, when Alecto wasn’t looking), and he was almost a </span>
  <em>
    <span>teenager.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He didn’t need to hold anybody’s hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Except that Will was already thirteen, and he still liked to hold Nico’s hand whenever he had the chance. If it was Will, it was okay. Best friends were different. And it just so happened that Nico’s best friend hadn’t let go of his hand since they left camp. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were heading north, the three of them packed into the backseat of Jules-Albert’s car. Nico wasn’t entirely sure where they were going - Chiron had given the message to Bianca, because she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>older</span>
  </em>
  <span> - but he knew they were on a “retrieval mission.” Whatever that meant. For the last hour, Will had practically been bouncing in his seat and tugging on Nico’s hand, babbling some over-excited nonsense. Nico was just surprised that Bianca hadn’t told him to shut up yet, but she’d been abnormally quiet for the last week or so, ever since Chiron had pulled her aside for some important discussion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>so cool</span>
  </em>
  <span> that you have your own driver,” Will was saying for maybe the fifth time. “That’s, like, rich people stuff! Like, my mama doesn’t even have her own driver, and, I mean, </span>
  <em>
    <span>she</span>
  </em>
  <span> doesn’t say she’s rich, but she kind of is.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, my dad </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> the god of riches,” Nico reminded him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will elbowed him. “Your dad’s the god of a lot of stuff.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico grinned. “Okay, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Apollo spawn.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you </span>
  <em>
    <span>please</span>
  </em>
  <span> get him to stop calling me that?” Will asked with a pout.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Seph calls you </span>
  <em>
    <span>that sunshine boy,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Nico told him. “Is that better?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will’s nose scrunched up. “I think just </span>
  <em>
    <span>sunshine</span>
  </em>
  <span> is good enough.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, </span>
  <em>
    <span>just sunshine.”</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Gods, you’re the </span>
  <em>
    <span>worst.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Will dug his elbow into Nico’s side with more force than before. “Anyway, how come you didn’t get this guy to drive you to Texas when I was at school last year? Maybe then you wouldn’t have spent the whole visit </span>
  <em>
    <span>asleep.”</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Dad said I had to get better at shadow traveling before he would give me a better mode of transportation,” Nico explained. “Jules is good for long distances when I need to keep my energy up, and he’s fast, but he’s not always fast </span>
  <em>
    <span>enough,</span>
  </em>
  <span> you know? So I had to know how to get somewhere quick without draining all my energy in case of an emergency. Trust me, I'm much better at it now.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jules turned off the main road, and Bianca sat up straighter. She spoke up for the first time since leaving camp. “I think we’re here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” Will said. “And where’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>here?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico leaned over Will to look out the window. It was difficult to see so late at night, but he’d trained his eyes to see better in the dark after spending so long in the Underworld. “Military school?” He turned back to his sister and grinned. “Bia, we’ve talked about this, you’re not getting rid of Will that easily.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bianca huffed and folded her arms. “That’s not what we’re here for.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you going to </span>
  <em>
    <span>tell</span>
  </em>
  <span> us?” Nico demanded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s a demigod here,” Bianca said. “Chiron got a message from one of the satyr scouts. She’s powerful, but undetermined, so Chiron thinks she might be a target for Beckendorf.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>At the sound of his old friend’s name, Will’s gaze dropped to his feet. Nico squeezed his hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re here to pick her up and take her to camp,” Bianca continued. “It should be quick and easy. Grover should be waiting for us inside, and he’ll take us to the demigod. We’ll sneak her back out, and we’re done.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s it?” Nico asked with a frown. “Then what are we here for? That seems easy enough for just one person.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I invited </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> for the company.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will leaned around Nico to ask, “Then why am I here?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bianca rolled her eyes. “Because you two are attached at the hip.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The car stopped. Jules stepped outside, moving around the car - faster than one might usually expect for a zombie - to open Bianca’s door. Before climbing out, she turned to the two boys and said, “Stay behind me, stay quiet, and don’t touch anything.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jules waited outside while the demigods walked in through the front door. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It didn’t take them long to find Grover - really, he found them. “Bianca?” he asked as he approached, and his eyes flickered toward Nico and Will. “I thought you were coming alone.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She shrugged one shoulder. “I brought backup. My brother, Nico, and his friend, Will.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Grover’s eyes widened. “Two Big Three kids? Oh, that’s no good. Um. Maybe you should go back outside and I’ll just find a way to bring Lou Ellen to you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bianca frowned. “We’re already here. What’s the problem?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Grover leaned forward and hissed, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Monsters.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think we can deal with a couple of--” </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Mr. Underwood,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> a voice boomed from across the hall, and the four of them turned to face the man walking toward them. “You were not supposed to leave the gymnasium. And who are these others? Outsiders?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bianca raised one hand and snapped her fingers. Nico felt like the very atmosphere rippled away from her fingers, and he had to blink a few times to shake that feeling away. She told the man, “We go to school here.” Really, he should’ve easily been able to tell that she was lying, considering how much snow they’d tracked inside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man blinked, then said, “Yes, of course. Why have you all left the gymnasium?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bathroom,” Grover blurted, causing the man to raise a suspicious eyebrow. “We were all looking for the bathroom, and went through the wrong door. We’re going back right now.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man hummed and nodded. “Yes, I’ll walk you back. Lead the way.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Grover started forward, so the demigods followed. They weren’t able to speak again until they had entered a crowded gymnasium, complete with gently flashing lights and too-loud music. Will made a noise of disgust, and Nico glanced at him in confusion. “School dances are the </span>
  <em>
    <span>worst,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Will explained. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico would have to take his word for it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The teacher that marched them into the gymnasium vanished as soon as they were inside, so Grover pulled them toward the corner to continue talking. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was the monster!” he whispered - as much as he could over the music. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will frowned. “But he’s just a guy.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t see that lady in the arch with the chimera,” Nico commented. “I thought she was just some lady, too.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is he?” Bianca asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know yet,” Grover replied, shaking his head, “but the smell...that’s undeniable. And there’s no doubt that he can smell you guys, too. Which is why we need to get out of here, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>fast.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right,” Bianca said with a single nod. “So, where’s our girl?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Grover pointed across the gym toward a set of bleachers. There was a group of boys playing cards, and a girl with dip-dyed purple hair amongst them. She seemed to be winning, if the noisy complaints from the boys were anything to go by. “Lou Ellen Blackstone. She has a crazy kind of control over the Mist, but nothing that tells me who her parent might be.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A minor god?” Bianca suggested.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Grover shrugged. “Maybe, but she’s the most powerful child of a minor god I’ve ever seen.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can figure that out later,” Nico told them. “How do we get her out of here without Mr. Monster catching us?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dr. Thorn,” Grover corrected.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will replied, “Nah, I like Mr. Monster better.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ignore them,” Bianca said to Grover. “Nico and I can shadow travel. I think I should just grab her and make a jump. The Mist should cover up our disappearance.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve never jumped with another person before,” Nico reminded her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve jumped with you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’ve</span>
  </em>
  <span> jumped with </span>
  <em>
    <span>you.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s what I </span>
  <em>
    <span>said.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, you said--” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will waved an arm between them. “Okay, nobody’s shadow traveling with anybody. We’ll go out the old fashioned way. Grover, what’s the best escape route?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Back out the way we came,” he answered. “Through the front door.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s the </span>
  <em>
    <span>best</span>
  </em>
  <span> route?” Nico asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s the fastest.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But we’ll be out in the open!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, shut up,” Bianca said suddenly, her eyes darting through the crowd. “She’s gone.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The three boys spun around to see what Bianca was looking at. The bleachers were still full of boys playing cards, though Lou Ellen was no longer with them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do we do?” Will asked. “Split up and look for her?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico squeezed his hand with a, “No, no splitting up. We don’t know what Mr. Monster is, and I don’t want him to try to pick us off one by one.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will’s grip on Nico’s hand tightened. “Uh, yeah, no. I don’t want that, either.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Without saying a word, Bianca pushed past them, leaving them no choice but to follow after her. She marched up to the boys on the bleachers and demanded to know where Lou Ellen had gone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She went somewhere with Dr. Thorn,” one of the boys answered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Which way did she go?” Bianca asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy pointed across the gymnasium. One of the doors was still swinging shut. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They took off at a run. Grover definitely wasn’t the fastest of the group - Nico thought it was pretty unlikely that he’d ever meet anybody faster than Will - but he was clearly pushing himself to lead the group outside onto a snowy cliff. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They found Dr. Thorn about a hundred yards away from the school, far enough away that the lights didn’t reach him, so they could really only see shadows in the glow of the moon. Bianca already had her bow drawn with an arrow nocked by the time they heard a shout of, “Stop! Not one step closer!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They paused. Nico focused on the shadows, forcing himself to see more clearly after being among such blinding lights - he felt much more comfortable out here in the cold, the quiet, the dark, about to fight a monster instead of socializing with people his own age. He could make out the difference between Lou Ellen and Dr. Thorn. He had a hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming. His other hand had a small box that Nico couldn’t identify.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was as far as he got before a projectile launched toward them. Nico tackled Will into the snow to get him out of its way. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where did that come from?” Bianca called out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Somewhere behind him,” Nico replied, jumping back to his feet and pulling Will up with him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dr. Thorn yelled to them, “Keep your distance, and I won’t have to kill you yet.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let Lou Ellen go, and we won’t have to kill you,” Bianca shot back as she pulled out her knife. “Yet.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bia,” Nico said softly. “Jump.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His sister nodded, and in the next second, she had disappeared. Then, Thorn was howling in pain, and Will ran forward. He managed to get a hold of Lou Ellen, and Nico could hear him reassuring her that everything would be alright. Nico was about to jump in and help his sister finish off the monster when Bianca was suddenly thrown aside. Nico didn’t even have the opportunity to move before Thorn dove toward Will and Lou Ellen, grabbing them both. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico had his sword in his hand in a second.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The next few things that happened were so quick that even Nico couldn’t see it all through the dark. There was the deafening noise of giant fan blades and wind that almost knocked him off his feet - something mechanical was flying near the edge of the cliff, though it wasn’t an airplane, so Nico didn’t know what it was. He did know that it started firing guns in their direction. He hit the ground to avoid any stray bullets. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Something caught Thorn’s shoulder, causing him to release Lou Ellen, but it wasn’t a bullet. Whatever it was came from the opposite direction, somewhere behind Nico. He was able to see Lou Ellen stagger toward Grover, who pulled her off to the side, away from the fight. Then Thorn started dragging Will toward the edge of the cliff, and that’s when Nico got back to his feet. He could risk a few bullet wounds in order to save his best friend from monstrous kidnapping. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He ran about halfway, and when it became clear that he wasn’t going to catch up, he jumped into the darkness and emerged with an arm outstretched, inches away from grabbing onto Will’s coat. Something silver flashed by the side of Nico’s head, lodging into Thorn’s body and knocking him off balance, over the edge of the cliff.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will went with him, screaming Nico’s name. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Will!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Nico shouted back, scrambling to the cliff’s edge, but he couldn’t see anything down below. All he knew was that the giant flying fan blades were getting farther and farther away, and his best friend had been lost to the darkness. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico was still screaming for his friend by the time Bianca pulled him back from the edge. “There’s nothing you can do for him right now, Nico,” she told him. “He’s not dead, so let’s just hope it stays that way. We’ll find him, after we get Lou Ellen to camp.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico let his sister pull him to his feet, then he brushed her off. “No, I’m not going back to camp. I’m going to find him.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bianca grabbed his arm in a death grip. “No, you’re coming back to camp. You’re no use after a single jump, and we’re in the middle of nowhere. You’re lucky that Jules is still waiting for us, because you’d probably pass out just from summoning him.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico yanked his arm out of her grip, crossing his arms across his chest, though he continued to walk alongside her. They found Grover and Lou Ellen heading toward the light of the school. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where’s Will?” Grover asked as soon as he could see them. Nico’s eyes narrowed into a glare, which he pointed at the ground. “Oh. Oh, no. Not another one…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Another one?” Lou Ellen asked, eyes widening in fear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t listen to him,” Bianca told her, drawing Lou’s full attention in her direction. “Lou Ellen Blackstone, right? My name is Bianca, and this is my brother, Nico. We’re going to take you someplace safe, alright?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What was that thing?” she asked. “And what kept hitting him?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We don’t know,” Bianca replied, “but I don’t want to stick around to find out. C’mon, we have a car--” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hang on a second,” a new voice said, and four heads whipped toward the woods. A girl, maybe a year or so older than Bianca, stepped toward them, and as she entered the light, Nico saw at least ten other girls following behind her. They all wore the same silver jackets, though the girl up front had an extra ring of silver in her hair. “Nobody’s going anywhere before we get some answers.” She grinned straight at Nico. “Hiya. Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus, lieutenant of Artemis. I hear I have a couple new cousins.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thalia explained the situation while the Hunters of Artemis - a group of girls all around Bianca’s age - set up camp, complete with silver tents and a few campfires. Lou Ellen was set up with Grover near one of the fires, with one of those silver jackets wrapped around her. Grover seemed to be explaining everything to her to the best of his ability.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico just wanted to get out there and find Will. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t even be excited about meeting the goddess of the hunt herself, only requesting that she let him hunt with her. She had refused, claiming that she didn’t hunt with the company of men, and then she ran off into the woods. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now, Nico sat with the name </span>
  <em>
    <span>manticore </span>
  </em>
  <span>burned into his brain, ready to raise hell in a literal sense if that’s what it took to get his best friend back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sat inside one of the tents with Bianca and Thalia, drumming his fingers impatiently against his crossed arms. Thalia seemed ready for a nice, long chat, and if Nico didn’t feel quite so dizzy, he would’ve been out of there already. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why don’t you two tell me what happened out there,” Thalia said after a short while, “before we showed up, at least.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Chiron sent us here to pick up an unclaimed demigod,” Bianca explained, “but once we got outside, it was too dark for me to see much of anything. Nico has much better night vision than I do.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thalia turned to him, and Nico heaved a heavy sigh. “That thing - the manticore - almost pulled Lou Ellen off the edge of the cliff. Then this...flying </span>
  <em>
    <span>thing</span>
  </em>
  <span> showed up and started shooting at us. Will pulled Lou Ellen away from the manticore, but it grabbed him and took him over the cliff.” He paused. “I almost had him… Just an inch more, and I would have had him…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Flying thing,” Thalia cut in. “What do you mean by that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico shrugged. “The loud, flying...</span>
  <em>
    <span>thing!</span>
  </em>
  <span> I don’t know, I’ve never seen one before.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” she replied with a grin. “The helicopter.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico raised an eyebrow, and nodded his head slowly. “Sure, the...helicopter.” For the tenth time in as many minutes, Nico wished Will was there. He always managed to fill in the blanks in Nico’s sentences perfectly without making him feel like an idiot for not knowing about different things from the modern world. And he was much better at explaining that Nico and Bianca were - what was his phrasing? - </span>
  <em>
    <span>misplaced </span>
  </em>
  <span>in time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thalia stretched her arms over her head. “Well, since Lady Artemis is hunting down the manticore, we really just need to wait around for a while. It shouldn’t take her that long, at least not to track him, but we’ve got plenty of time to relax. We can all rest here tonight, and then in the morning, we’ll head to Camp Half-Blood to wait out Artemis’s return.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” Nico snapped. “We’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> waiting around. That thing took my best friend!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bianca set her hand on Nico’s arm, and he leaned away from the touch. “Nico, there’s nothing we can do right now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can </span>
  <em>
    <span>try!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> he shouted, his voice cracking near the end. Nico looked away and pulled his knees up to his chest. He was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> about to start crying in front of a couple of girls. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bianca turned back to Thalia. “We’re going back to camp tonight. You can come with us, or you can meet us there later, but I won’t make Nico wait that long.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thalia didn’t respond right away. It wasn’t until Nico looked up at her and saw her nodding that she said, “Okay. Give us a few minutes to pack up, and we’ll go with you. Bianca, would you mind helping out?” She stood, so the siblings got to their feet as well. “Sorry, Nico, but the other girls… They don’t work well with boys.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico crossed his arms with a huff. “I don’t want to hang out with a bunch of </span>
  <em>
    <span>girls</span>
  </em>
  <span> anyway.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thalia grinned. She ruffled Nico’s hair as she passed him, telling him, “You’re even cuter than Percy, sometimes.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before Nico could ask what that meant, Thalia stepped outside. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bianca took Nico by the shoulders, forcing him to face her, though he kept his gaze to the ground. “We’ll find him, Nico,” Bianca told him, and Nico’s eyes flickered upward. “First thing in the morning, we’ll talk to Chiron.” She waited until Nico nodded before continuing. “Go find Jules-Albert. We’re going to need a bigger car if we’re getting everybody back to camp.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico nodded again, and Bianca’s hands fell away from his shoulders. She started to leave, but Nico caught her with one hand wrapping around her own. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He held his sister’s hand as they left the tent together. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. They Have a Dam Problem</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hello!! i almost forgot to post this today bc ive been playing too much hades again but no worries folks! it's here enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Nico wasn’t invited on the quest, even though it should have been </span>
  <em>
    <span>his</span>
  </em>
  <span> quest to begin with. He’d practically </span>
  <em>
    <span>begged</span>
  </em>
  <span> Chiron for a quest as soon as they’d gotten to camp, but he refused to send anyone out without a prophecy. So, once again, Nico had sneaked up into the Big House attic to talk to the Oracle, but she didn’t budge. There was no smoke, no hissing, no </span>
  <em>
    <span>prophecy.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Nico would have left anyway if Bianca hadn’t stopped him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And the next day, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Thalia</span>
  </em>
  <span> got a quest. Nico had tried to claim his spot, but Thalia tried to let him down easy, reminding him that the Hunters didn’t work well with boys. Bianca volunteered to go in his place, promising Nico that she would bring Will back in one piece. Still, Nico wasn’t happy. Even when one of the Hunters woke up sick the morning of the quest, another Hunter - </span>
  <em>
    <span>Zoe</span>
  </em>
  <span> - had insisted that it was just part of the prophecy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And they left. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They left Nico </span>
  <em>
    <span>behind.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But he wasn’t going to </span>
  <em>
    <span>stay</span>
  </em>
  <span> behind. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As soon as the questing group was out of sight, Nico started packing. He stopped by the infirmary and begged Lee for a first aid kit, which he only got after promising to give Will a good smack on the back of the head as soon as Nico found him. He told Chiron that he was going to visit his dad - at this point, it was enough of a common occurrence that Chiron didn’t blink an eye. (Nico knew he had to be at least a </span>
  <em>
    <span>little</span>
  </em>
  <span> suspicious, but he didn’t stick around long enough for Chiron to change his mind.) (It’s not like he could keep Nico from shadow traveling away, anyway.)</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Half a day later, after one big shadow jump that took him a few states away, Nico had to summon Jules-Albert for a long nap in the backseat of the moving car. The dream he had was evidence enough that Nico should have been on that quest from the very beginning. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The first thing he saw was Will, and Nico almost called out to him, but then he saw the monsters flanking him on either side - snake women with spears in their hands, prodding him forward through the ruins of some marble structure. Will’s expression was blank, but the kind of blank that Nico knew meant that he wouldn’t let anything get to him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Until he saw Charlie. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Will’s mouth fell open, his eyes widened, and his steps stuttered like he wanted to rush forward but was holding himself back. Nico wanted to jump between them before he realized that Beckendorf wasn’t going anywhere. He was being held down by something </span>
  <em>
    <span>massive,</span>
  </em>
  <span> practically crushing him under its weight. There were tears streaming down his cheeks as Beckendorf choked out, “Will...</span>
  <em>
    <span>help.”</span>
  </em>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nico tried to scream, but his voice didn’t work. He was forced to watch as Will took a few hesitant steps forward, then lifted the weight from Charlie’s shoulders. For a second, it looked like Will held the mass without a problem, but then his head dipped as the weight fell to his shoulders, and he slowly sunk to his knees. Will cried out as he was carefully crushed, and he whined, “Charlie… I can’t-- It </span>
  <em>
    <span>hurts--”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Beckendorf rolled his head from side to side, stretching out his arms and his back. He leaned forward and patted Will’s cheek before turning to walk away. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Will let out a sob.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then, time sped up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nico watched as Beckendorf wandered back and forth in front of Will with a handful of unrecognizable people and various humanoid monsters. No one paid Will any mind as he sank further into the ground, his body folding under the pressure.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>By the time someone even so much as looked at him again, Will’s nose had almost been forced into the ground. Nico didn’t know how he was even still </span>
  <em>
    <span>breathing. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Just like before, someone was marched forward by a pair of snake women - this time, it was a young girl in chains. She looked familiar, but Nico couldn’t put his finger on why. She knelt in front of Will, placing one hand on his cheek, though he couldn’t lift his head enough to look at her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nephew,” the girl said, and Nico remembered. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Artemis.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “Give me the sky.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>The sky.</span>
  </em>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Artemis put one hand under the mass, then another, then she heaved the weight off of Will as he collapsed onto the ground. Artemis was able to stay standing, even as the sky claimed all of her strength.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Will didn’t move, even as he was dragged across the ground and chained to a wall.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nico wasn’t sure if he woke up because the dream ended, or if his anger had grown so strong that he couldn’t take it any longer. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wherever Jules dropped him off was somewhere in Arizona. Nico had no way of knowing where the quest would take the others, so he’d taken his best guess, and hoped that Jules would somehow be able to track Bianca. He must have done a good job at that, because Nico found the girls after minimal wandering. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He found them inside a junkyard. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bia,” Nico called out from the road access point of the junkyard. His sister spun around, her face going through a series of emotions that didn’t settle before she ran back to Nico, nearly tackling him in a hug. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And </span>
  <em>
    <span>what</span>
  </em>
  <span> do you think you’re doing out here?” Bianca demanded, her hands firmly planted on his shoulders.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why do you </span>
  <em>
    <span>think?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Nico shot back as the other three approached. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bianca huffed. “I promised you I would bring Will back, didn’t I? We all have our priorities here, Nico. Lou and I are going after Will, first and foremost, and Thalia and Zoe are going to find Artemis.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nico glanced at Lou in surprise. “You’re here for Will?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shrugged, suddenly looking a bit uncomfortable. “You think I’d choose to wander around in a world of monsters and magic just for fun? He saved my life, so I’m just trying to repay the favor.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nico folded his arms and shrugged Bianca’s hands off his shoulders. “Well, now you’re three and two. The prophecy said </span>
  <em>
    <span>five,</span>
  </em>
  <span> didn’t it?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“One shall be lost in the land without rain,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Zoe recited. “That was Phoebe, who stayed behind at camp after falling ill. You’re interfering.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nico rolled his eyes. “Or maybe </span>
  <em>
    <span>you’re</span>
  </em>
  <span> just wrong.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thalia grinned and ruffled Nico’s hair. “Man, when we’re done with all this, I’m taking you to a Hot Topic. I think you’d like it there.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nico swatted her hand away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, well!” Thalia clapped her gloved hands together. “Let’s get moving again before we lose sunlight. Nico, welcome to the Junkyard of the Gods, please keep your hands in your pockets at all times and refrain from touching anything that might explode.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is that a risk you maybe should have warned us about sooner?” Lou asked nervously, but Thalia had already turned around to keep walking. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nico chose to update Bianca on the dream he’d had on the way there while they picked through the heaping piles of scrap metal and what looked to be broken children’s toys. She told him that Thalia had had a similar dream, one about Artemis being captured and then being forced to bear the weight of the sky, though her dream had left Will out almost entirely. Nico didn’t respond after that, instead kicking a few rocks out of his path.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At one point, he climbed to the top of one scrap pile, just to see how much further the yard stretched, and found that they’d made it about halfway across. He looked toward his feet as he started to climb down, but stopped when his eyes caught on something amongst the junk. Nico picked up a little figurine, something that he’d recognized from Will’s mythomagic collection that he kept in a shoebox under his bed. He had a handful of little figurines like this one, but Nico didn’t remember seeing one that looked like the one he held in his hand. It was supposed to be Hades, he assumed, though it didn’t look much like the god himself. And if it really was Hades, then it was one of the rarer pieces.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nico slipped the figurine into his pocket - he could give it to Will when he rescued him from Beckendorf. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then, the ground fell away from under his feet. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The good thing was that Nico landed on an old mattress, so he wasn’t severely damaged from the fall. The bad thing was, there was a gross looking stain that his hand touched when he pushed himself back to his feet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The worst thing was the giant robot that had risen from the trash heap Nico had once been standing on.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It raised one giant foot, and Nico barely managed to jump out of the way before he could be crushed underneath it. The robot seemed locked onto Nico, and he figured that was just because he was closest to it. The thing’s attention was pulled away from him when three of the girls started firing arrows at it. The arrows didn’t even manage to dent the robot’s metal exterior, but it gave Nico the chance to duck behind an old refrigerator. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who took something?” Thalia shouted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>One of the robot’s hands swept away the refrigerator, tossing Nico a few feet to the side along with it. He rolled a few times before coming to a stop, and narrowly avoided getting stepped on a second time when Thalia grabbed him by the back of his jacket and dragged him to his feet. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What did you take?” she demanded, her usual smile gone, replaced by a glare so strong it rivaled Nico’s own. He thought he could feel little sparks of static electricity where her hand still gripped his jacket. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you talking about?” he replied, ripping himself away from her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The junkyard. That’s it’s guardian,” she said, though it didn’t make any sense to Nico.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thalia wasn’t able to say anything more before the robot spotted them again, this time trying to wrap Nico up in its fist. Thalia shoved Nico down to one side, and she dove to the other. The robot’s hand came up empty.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lou!” Thalia shouted. “Use the Mist! Try to hide us!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lou Ellen nodded in response, then grabbed Bianca to defend her as she worked. Around them, the air seemed to ripple, just like it had when Bianca snapped her fingers at that military school. Nico risked a glance back at the robot. If it was possible for a motionless metal face to look confused, then this one did. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>No one moved, no one spoke. Thalia held a finger to her lips to keep everyone silent, then gestured with her other hand for everyone to start moving. Bianca stayed near Lou, and Zoe kept one arrow trained on the robot. Thalia grabbed Nico’s arm to pull him forward.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The silence lasted maybe a minute before Lou Ellen gasped, “I can’t--” and the manipulation of the Mist fell apart. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a horrendous shriek of metal against metal as the robot turned on them once again and came after them with renewed speed. Thalia shouted, “Scatter!” and the other girls took off running - even Lou Ellen, despite her visible exhaustion. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nico didn’t move quite as quickly, and instead chose to look back at the robot to see how close it was. Maybe he should stop running and grab his sword--</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was shoved aside once again. He lifted his head as the ground shook and the robot’s foot fell where he’d been standing a second before. A wave of cool air washed over him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A ways away, Zoe screamed, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Thalia!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nico’s head whipped around. He didn’t see her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He scrambled to his feet once again toward his sister. “Bia, we need to jump,” he said as she fired a few more arrows at the robot. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We can’t leave the others,” she argued, though Nico could see in her eyes that she wanted to get out just as much as he did.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We won’t,” he said. “It’s our only option.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bianca took a deep breath, then nodded. “You take Lou, I’ll get Zoe.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nico frowned. “And Thalia.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bianca shot him a pained look. “Nico--” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Watch out!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Lou exclaimed, and suddenly she was at Nico’s side, dragging him away from Bianca as the robot caught up to them. She dropped his arm as soon as he was in the clear, but Nico grabbed hers right back. “What?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m going to--” What was the word that Will always used? “Uh, teleport us out of here. It’s going to be...freaky, but hold on tight.” He took Lou’s hand in his own and held on tight as he pulled her toward the shadowy side of a junk pile, and he dissolved into the darkness.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was easier than he’d expected, taking another person with him. It felt like Lou almost belonged in the dark, in the same way that Nico felt like he did sometimes, and he didn’t feel like he had to use any more energy than normal to pull them back out of the shadow on the other side - thankfully </span>
  <em>
    <span>outside</span>
  </em>
  <span> of the junkyard. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bianca and Zoe emerged only a few seconds later, tumbling onto the sand, both looking a few shades paler than before. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nico looked between the three of them. “Thalia?” he asked after a second, and three pairs of eyes turned toward him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You did not see,” Zoe realized. “Thalia was crushed by the metal monster. She pushed you out of the way.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” Nico’s head snapped toward Bianca for confirmation. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“What?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shook her head. “She’s gone, Nico. Didn’t you feel it?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Zoe wouldn’t even look at Nico until morning. She didn’t speak to him until they reached civilization, which happened to be some massive dam blocking a river. Nico was pretty sure he’d heard of this thing before - it was one of the tallest dams in the world, and it was built just a year or two before Nico and Bianca moved to America.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It also happened to be around the same time that the birds started dive bombing them. Zoe had some special name for them, but Nico just wanted to call them </span>
  <em>
    <span>dead</span>
  </em>
  <span> and get it over with. Unfortunately, there were too many of them, and even Zoe couldn’t manage to shoot any of them down, so they ducked for cover. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Inside the giant dam. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nico figured he should probably be used to getting chased around national monuments by security officers at some point, considering how often it seemed to happen. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They split into two groups, unintentionally. Zoe and Lou ducked into a restroom while Nico and Bianca took off across the main walkway. There wasn’t an incredible amount of tourists wandering the area, so they didn’t have much cover, just a corner here and there to run around in an attempt to lose the officers trailing them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As they came around one corner, Bianca nearly took down a mortal girl, causing them both to shout and Nico to draw his sword. The mortal - a pale girl with freckles and frizzy red hair - suddenly seemed entirely unbothered by being tackled, and instead gasped and said, “How did you manage to get a </span>
  <em>
    <span>sword</span>
  </em>
  <span> past security?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nico almost lowered his sword in confusion, but instead doubled down when he realized that it could be some kind of tactic by the monster in front of him. He’d seen plenty of monsters disguised as people at this point, so he wanted to be ready to take her down before she could move a muscle. Bianca seemed to be on the same page, already nocking an arrow and aiming at the girl’s nose. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who are you?” Bianca demanded. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The girl raised her hands in surrender, green eyes going wide. “Um. My name’s Rachel.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“What</span>
  </em>
  <span> are you?” Nico asked next. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She blinked, and pressed her lips together. “A...freshman in high school?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nico’s sword dropped a few inches. “Are you...mortal?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rachel nodded quickly. “Um, yeah, I think so, and I’d really rather not test that today.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>From somewhere behind them, Nico heard one of the security officers call out, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“They must have gone this way.” </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They’re looking for you, right?” Rachel said quickly, and Nico’s guard shot up once more. “I’ll help you hide! Just promise you won’t kill me, and I’ll throw them off your scent!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nico glanced toward Bianca, who nodded and said, “Okay. Deal.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nico figured, worst case, the two of them shadow travel out of there and regroup with Lou and Zoe later. Or maybe worst case meant accidentally killing some mortal girl. They allowed Rachel to step around them toward the officers, and pressed themselves back against the wall to remain out of sight. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Help! Help!” Rachel started shouting as soon as she was around the corner. Nico grabbed Bianca’s hand in a signal to jump, but she shot him a look that said </span>
  <em>
    <span>not yet.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “This kid just pulled a knife on me! He went that way, I think he went into the bathroom. You have to catch him! I thought I was gonna </span>
  <em>
    <span>die!”</span>
  </em>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nico held his breath to listen as the footsteps retreated, and a moment later, Rachel returned. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, I think you’re safe for a couple minutes,” Rachel told them, “but you might want to run before they realize there’s nobody in the bathroom.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you,” Bianca said. “You should probably leave, too, so they don’t catch you in a lie.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rachel smiled brightly, letting out a soft laugh, and Nico thought Bianca flinched beside him. “Yeah, that’s probably not a bad idea. Good luck with, uh… Whatever you guys were doing. And thanks for not stabbing me!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, yeah! No problem!” Bianca replied, a few notches louder than necessary, and she latched onto Nico’s arm. “C’mon, Neeks, let’s get out of here.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As she dragged him around the corner, Nico noticed that her face had gotten significantly redder than usual, and he frowned. “Are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>blushing?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“What?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Bianca slapped her free hand against her cheek. “No, of course not! There was just something about-- Are we sure she was mortal? I feel like she did some kind of weird magic just now.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Really?” Nico asked. “I feel fine. What did the magic feel like?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bianca huffed. “I don’t wanna talk about it. Let’s just find Lou and Zoe and get out of here already.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nico pulled his arm out of Bianca’s grasp. “Fine. I just hope those birds are gone by now.” </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thanks for reading!! i THINK theres one more chapter for this book but idk we'll see</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Nico Puts on a Few Million Extra Pounds</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hello!!<br/>this chapter came out uhhh a Lot longer than expected and doubled the word count for this thing so that's fun. anyway this fic's wrapping up and idk how long itll be before i write the next one so. hang tight i'll figure that out eventually<br/>enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>In the two days it took for them to get from the Hoover Dam to the base of Mount Tamalpais, Lou Ellen had earned a great deal of Nico’s respect. She was, of course, the only one of them to have been born within the last few decades, and was therefore considered something of a wealth of knowledge to the other three. She helped them pass the time by updating them on the most important events of the last century that they might have missed out on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This included a frighteningly detailed list of the worst serial killers from the 70s and 80s, the fact that same-sex marriage had been legalized in The Netherlands (and that she had high hopes for America in the near future), and that humans had actually walked on the moon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s a lot of people who are gonna try to tell you it’s fake, okay, but don’t believe them,” she had told them somewhere in the middle of Nevada. “The video is </span>
  <em>
    <span>totally</span>
  </em>
  <span> real, and I’ve heard that the moon cheese is delicious.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico mostly wanted to know why Will would have withheld something like that - Nico could </span>
  <em>
    <span>teleport,</span>
  </em>
  <span> so he could </span>
  <em>
    <span>totally</span>
  </em>
  <span> sneak into some government base to steal some of their moon cheese. If it was so good, then Will would want to try it, right?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t stop thinking about Will. He was worried about him. Nico hadn’t had much opportunity to sleep, so he hadn’t had any more dreams to tell him what was happening. The best he got was a sidetrack just inside the California state border when a limousine stopped directly in their path. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico recognized Ares from his first quest just over a year ago, but he didn’t recognize the woman inside the car. She was pretty, Nico would admit, but he couldn’t really pinpoint any reason </span>
  <em>
    <span>why. </span>
  </em>
  <span>It was like she was always changing shape, her hair always growing or shortening or curling and turning blond, and even her clothes seemed to flicker between jeans and dresses. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nico, dear,” she said sweetly. “I am Aphrodite. Do you know why I’m here?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“To...help with the quest?” Nico guessed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She smiled. Nico was pretty sure she had been wearing makeup a moment ago, but now her skin was so clear that Nico could see the hundreds of freckles dotted across her cheeks. “That’s a good guess, but not quite. Tell me, dear, why are you on this quest?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because Artemis--” Aphrodite made a noise, something like a hum that told Nico that she knew he was lying. “Because </span>
  <em>
    <span>Will</span>
  </em>
  <span> was captured.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes! Wonderful, we’re making so much progress already,” the goddess said with a quick clap of her hands. “Why would you go on such a dangerous quest just because some boy is in trouble?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico frowned. “He’s my best friend.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of </span>
  <em>
    <span>course</span>
  </em>
  <span> he is,” Aphrodite said in a condescending tone, and her smile didn’t waver. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He </span>
  <em>
    <span>is,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Nico insisted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, honey, I know he is,” Aphrodite told him as she reached forward to pat his cheek. “Trust me, I know all about this little quest you’re on to find that boy you love so much. How do you think you got a place in the party to begin with? You know, a </span>
  <em>
    <span>thank you</span>
  </em>
  <span> would be nice.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico flinched away from her touch. “Thank you for what? Wait, who said anything about love?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry, dear, this will stay entirely between the two of us. I don’t just go around outting kids just for fun,” Aphrodite promised him, though Nico wasn’t really sure what she meant. “I just want to make sure that your heart is in the right place before I go giving out information that I shouldn’t.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What kind of information?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why, where they’re keeping your little boyfriend, of course.” Had Aphrodite started this conversation with that tiny Southern twang to her voice? Was Nico losing his mind from the lack of sleep? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s not my boyfriend,” Nico said defensively, suddenly feeling a wave of nausea wash over him. He hoped the girls outside couldn’t hear any of this - he didn’t need to be abandoned by his own questing group because some goddess decided to start spreading rumors. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I won’t make you say or do anything that’ll make you uncomfortable,” she said, placing a comforting hand on Nico’s shoulder. “I’m just hoping I can help you understand this one thing. Times have changed, honey. You are free to love whoever you love, and nobody’s gonna hurt you for it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Great, okay,” Nico replied, fighting every instinct in his body that was telling him to shrug her hand off of him. “Can I get that information now?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just say it back to me, okay? In your own words, however you understand it. Just to make sure we’re on the same page here.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico raised an eyebrow. “If I was a...a homosexual, which I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>not,</span>
  </em>
  <span> then that would be...okay.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Perfect,” Aphrodite told him with a smile, her blue eyes shining. “Well, almost. But good enough for me to let you know that your...</span>
  <em>
    <span>friend</span>
  </em>
  <span> is being held by Atlas on Mount Othrys - that’s Mount Tamalpais for you Westerners. It should take you all at least another day to arrive there. And Will is okay. Alive, not actively suffering, but not...</span>
  <em>
    <span>well.”</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,” Nico told her as he reached for the door handle. “Um. Can I…?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, of course,” she told him. “Oh, but one last thing, a little thing. The kids are saying </span>
  <em>
    <span>gay</span>
  </em>
  <span> these days, not </span>
  <em>
    <span>homosexual.”</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Great, thanks,” Nico replied. “I’m not gay, then.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Aphrodite drove away, Nico relayed the information she’d given him to the rest of the party - and </span>
  <em>
    <span>only</span>
  </em>
  <span> the important information. He was pretty sure that Bianca could see that he was holding something else back. Zoe, on the other hand, looked like Nico had said too much when he mentioned Atlas and Mount Othrys. She had a moment of dread, then seemed resigned, and continued to lead the others west. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Halfway up Mount Tam, they found the Garden of the Hesperides and discovered that Zoe was their runaway sister, daughter of Atlas herself. They kept climbing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They came across crumbling columns that seemed to slowly creep higher as they walked between them. As soon as they heard voices, the questers hid with their backs to the columns. Nico peeked around the edge, his eyes scanning the area for Will, though he found Beckendorf first. He looked like he’d recovered from the crushing weight of the sky, which gave Nico hope that Will would too, and he was talking to someone in full camouflage who stood a full foot taller than Beckendorf himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We need a plan,” Bianca whispered to him. “What can you see? What should we do?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I see Charlie, but I can’t--” He peered further, far enough that he could easily be spotted, and his eyes landed on Will. He was chained to a wall by the ankle, laying on the ground either asleep or unconscious, and Nico’s heart jumped. He pulled back behind the column and said, “I found Will. I’m gonna grab him and get him out of here.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bianca latched onto his arm. “No, you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>not.</span>
  </em>
  <span> You have to help us get Artemis!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lou appeared at their side, causing both siblings to flinch, since she had been a short distance away only a moment before. “Zoe has a plan,” she told them. “I’m going to cloak us all in Mist, just like at the Junkyard, and we’ll just sneak over to Artemis and grab her.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico shook his head. “That won’t work. Someone will have to hold the sky.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One of us will have to break away as a distraction,” Bianca said, “and try to trick Charlie into taking the sky.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico shook his head again, but the girls were already crawling toward Zoe to relay the plan. Nico could see the moment when Lou started manipulating the Mist, and the three of them started around their barrier. They didn’t get far before Nico could see the Mist starting to flicker - Lou was untrained and overexerted - and he knew he would need to jump in before their entire plan fell apart. He looked for Will again, then searched a little further until he found Artemis. She was chained, too, and was bearing the weight of the sky much more gracefully than Will or Charlie had. The single chain holding her in place didn’t look particularly strong - most likely more of a power play than for practicality.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico had a clear shot, so before he could overthink anything, he grabbed his sword and ran. He was sure that Charlie and the other man hadn’t noticed him until Nico put his full weight behind breaking Artemis’s chain with his sword. He heard Charlie shouting and saw him start running, but Nico didn’t pay him any mind. He moved next to Artemis and said, “I’ll get you out if you promise to get me out soon.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The goddess couldn’t seem to speak, but nodded her head, so Nico lifted his hands. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>For a second, it didn’t seem so bad. Sure, it was heavy, but it was bearable. Then the weight kept coming, and coming, and coming, and Nico wasn’t sure how he didn’t sink into the ground. He couldn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>think</span>
  </em>
  <span> because he was sure he could feel his bones fracturing, his muscles melting away, his teeth grinding down to nothing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he realized that he wasn’t fully able to breathe, he forced his eyes open. Bianca was fighting knife-to-sword against Beckendorf, and he thought he could see a Mist-form of Bianca distracting him from the real fight. He couldn’t turn his head, but Nico’s eyes flickered toward Artemis and Zoe as they fought the camo giant - </span>
  <em>
    <span>Atlas,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Nico would realize later. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t check on Will. He couldn’t get his head to move that way, and the not knowing was causing Nico more panic than the idea of being stuck under this weight until he died. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t think he was going to die, but he could feel that someone’s death was imminent. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His attention shot back toward the fighting when he heard a scream and felt an earth-rattling collision with the nearest wall. He looked that way just in time to watch Zoe fall from where she’d been thrown into the wall, and when she hit the ground, she didn’t move. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico felt something in his body move as if trying to go to her aide, but his legs didn’t budge. Not until he watched Lou Ellen knock Beckendorf off his feet and then charge to Artemis’s side to continue fighting Atlas back. Nico’s weight shifted. Atlas was slowly backing up toward him, and Nico caught a glimpse of what he saw - a pack of lions stalking and cornering him - and then he was tackled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico wished he could have appreciated the sight of a Titan being taken down by two twelve-year-old girls, but his brain was feeling pretty fried, and he couldn’t even get himself to stay on his feet when Artemis pulled him out from under the sky.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The weight flattened Atlas like a pancake against the earth, though he slowly rose to hold it up over his head. He almost looked like a scene in one of the Christmas movies Will had convinced Nico to watch, where the Grinch holds his sleigh overhead. For a second, Nico was afraid that Atlas was going to throw the sky off of himself, but then the mass dropped down onto his shoulders, and he was taken back down to a knee. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,” Nico whispered to Artemis.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lou Ellen set a hand on his shoulder. “Go get Will.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico nodded and started to crawl, knowing that he wouldn’t have the energy to stand. Absently, he knew that Artemis and Lou went back to help Bianca and Zoe, but Nico’s mind was focused only on Will.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had to have been unconscious, because even the sound of fighting didn’t wake the blond - not until Nico rolled him onto his back and tapped at his cheeks. Will’s eyes fluttered open, and Nico would have cried with relief if they weren’t still in danger, so instead he pulled out his sword once more and shattered the chain keeping Will in place. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you walk?” Nico asked Will once the other had finally pulled himself into a sitting position. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you?” Will replied, and Nico figured that settled it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He turned toward the fighting, watching carefully to make sure he wouldn’t be too much of a distraction before calling out, “Bia!” He waited for her to look back and nod once, then return to her work of cornering Beckendorf on the cliffside. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico wrapped his arms around Will’s shoulders and knocked them back into the nearest shadow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They emerged somewhere below the Garden of the Hesperides, the two boys sprawled out on the ground and wrapped up in one another. Nico thought he might barf - something about shadow traveling with Will was a lot harder on him than jumping with Lou Ellen, though he decided to pin it on his current state of weakness than blaming it on his best friend. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will sat up again, pulling Nico with him since the other boy was practically in his lap anyway, and he wound his arms around Nico’s waist. Nico buried his face in Will’s shoulder and told him, “I’m so glad you’re okay.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Me too,” Will replied with a laugh. “And I’m glad </span>
  <em>
    <span>you’re</span>
  </em>
  <span> okay, too.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico drew back, his hands on Will’s shoulders. “You </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> okay, right? They didn’t hurt you at all? None of your bones are broken from holding the sky?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will’s head tilted to the side. “How did you know about that?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I, uh.” Nico felt himself blush, though he wasn’t sure why. “I dreamed about it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will grinned. “You </span>
  <em>
    <span>dreamed</span>
  </em>
  <span> about me?” </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Demigod</span>
  </em>
  <span> dreams,” Nico said instantly. “Quest clues! You know what I mean!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I know.” Will’s smile softed. “I dreamed about you, too.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now Nico’s face was really on fire. “Okay, whatever. Are you sure you’re okay? Um, Bia has all the water and ambrosia, so you’ll have to wait a minute for that, but you’re okay? Aside from being a little dusty.” Nico reached into Will’s hair and tried to brush away a patch of dust that didn’t seem to want to budge. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey!” Will exclaimed as Nico roughly rustled his hair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was one patch that was lighter than the rest of Will’s golden blond, and when Nico curled it around his finger, it looked almost silver. “You have a chunk of gray.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Will asked. “No way, that’s not possible. I’m only </span>
  <em>
    <span>thirteen.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe it’ll go away when you wash it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe yours will too, then.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Nico slapped a hand onto the top of his own head, as if he would be able to feel out the difference in color. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will reached up and tugged on a section of Nico’s hair with a grin. “We match.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s probably from the stress, right?” Nico asked, the fingers of one hand still playing in Will’s hair. “I mean, you getting kidnapped and me coming to rescue you. That’s stressful.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, getting kidnapped is stressful, sure,” Will replied, “but the rescuing?” He shrugged. “I’ve been on a quest with you. ‘S not so bad.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico huffed. “Excuse you, I almost </span>
  <em>
    <span>died.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Oh!” Nico’s eyes widened as he remembered something, and stuffed his hands into his pockets to pull out the Mythomagic figurine he’d found. “I got this for you, </span>
  <em>
    <span>one</span>
  </em>
  <span> of the times when I almost died.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you only think of me for the entire quest?” Will asked with a shy smile, and Nico felt himself starting to blush again. He didn’t get a chance to respond - wouldn’t have known how to, anyway - before Will took the figurine and exclaimed, “Oh my gods! I don’t have this one yet. Is this… Is this Hades? He’s like, </span>
  <em>
    <span>super rare!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Wow, and it looks </span>
  <em>
    <span>nothing</span>
  </em>
  <span> like your dad!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a few minutes later that Nico felt the familiar chill of shadow travel once more, and the mountainside spit out the forms of Bianca and Lou Ellen. Once they were both steady on their feet, Bianca stared at Lou with something akin to awe. “That was so easy,” she said, as though talking to herself. “It was like you were </span>
  <em>
    <span>helping.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Were you helping?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico climbed off of Will’s lap and ran to his sister, wrapping his arms around her and exclaiming, “Bia! Thank the gods, you’re okay.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You, too,” she told him with a squeezing hug. “What were you </span>
  <em>
    <span>thinking,</span>
  </em>
  <span> taking the sky like that?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will jumped to his feet. “You held the </span>
  <em>
    <span>sky?” </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Bianca shot Will a narrow-eyed look as she released her brother, but then she grinned. “Glad to see you’re still alive, Will.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will smiled back, beaming brighter than the setting sun. “Yeah, me too.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tell me what happened,” Nico demanded, drawing Bianca’s attention back to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bianca started to explain, but for some reason, Nico couldn’t find it in himself to focus. Instead, his attention was locked on Lou Ellen and Will. After a quick introduction, Lou said to him, “Thanks for getting kidnapped so I didn’t have to.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will laughed - a sound that normally made Nico feel like his chest was filling with air, but force once made him ball his fists - and replied, “No problem. Thanks for joining the rescue party.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Happy to help!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico kind of wanted to push Lou Ellen off the nearest cliff.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A bright light flashed nearby which might have been the only thing that kept Lou Ellen alive a little while longer since Nico spun around to find its source. Artemis had appeared beside Bianca, looking grim. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Zoe?” Bianca asked, though Nico knew she already knew the answer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Artemis shook her head. “After Charles vanished and I sent you and Lou Ellen away, I went to help Zoe however I could, but… Even my powers are limited when the Fates are involved. All I could do was ease her transition into your father’s realm.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Charlie disappeared?” Nico asked, and Bianca frowned at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I told you that,” she said. “We backed him up to the cliff, and he jumped, and then he was just </span>
  <em>
    <span>gone.”</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“There are larger issues than one boy’s disappearance,” Artemis told them. “You all saw the way that the palace appeared to be rebuilding itself. It means our enemy’s forces are growing stronger.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What can we do about that?” Will asked as he stepped up to Nico’s side and took his hand. Nico felt himself stand a little taller at the contact. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Gods,</span>
  </em>
  <span> he’d missed Will. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For now,” Artemis replied, taking a pause to glance in the direction of the setting sun, “all we can do is take what we know to Olympus as a warning. The solstice will begin soon, and the Council needs to hear what happened on your quest.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Artemis took care of their speedy transport to Olympus, and Nico thought he was going to be sick - actually, of the four of them, Will seemed to be the only one that wasn’t affected. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gods,” Nico groaned, squeezing Will’s hand. “Is that what it feels like to shadow jump with me?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were led into the throne room, though unlike the last time they were there, the place was crowded. Once Artemis took her seat - after drawing the other gods’ attention to the demigods before them - every throne was full, and Nico felt a dozen sets of powerful eyes fall on him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bianca took charge of explaining everything, leaving Nico the opportunity to study the faces of every god and goddess before them. Dionysus was there, likely upset that his one reprieve from Camp was being interrupted by a few children. Nico’s father was just off to Nico’s side, sitting in what had to have been the Olympian equivalent of a folding chair since he didn’t have a throne of his own. He offered Nico a comforting smile when their eyes met. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He kept looking around. There was a girl tending to the fire at the center of the room, though something told Nico that she was more than just some girl. He spotted Aphrodite, one of the few gods he knew by face alone - ever changing as it was - and she winked at him. Right away, Nico slipped his hand out of Will’s, ignoring the confused look that he knew Will started pointing at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico filled in a few gaps for Bianca - particularly the dreams he’d had along the way to Arizona - though for the most part, she had it handled. She even offered her condolences to Zeus and Artemis for the loss of his daughter and her lieutenant. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zeus didn’t respond past a nod, though Artemis thanked her and said, “I believe my newest lieutenant has already been chosen.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bianca nodded, and Nico felt his heart stop. “Wait,” he croaked, at the same time that Artemis continued, “Bianca di Angelo, please step forward.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bia, </span>
  <em>
    <span>wait,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Nico pleaded, grasping for her hand, though Bianca stepped out of his reach. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Artemis rose from her throne and met Bianca near the hearth. Will’s hand found Nico’s again, though this time, he didn’t pull away. Artemis held both of Bianca’s hands between them and said, “Repeat after me.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And she did.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I, Bianca di Angelo, pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the hunt.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico squeezed his eyes shut and ducked his head so that no one could see the tears welling up in his eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They’d just watched two hunters die over the span of a few days! How could Bianca </span>
  <em>
    <span>join them?</span>
  </em>
  <span> How could she abandon him like this?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Once the solstice is over, we will continue our hunt for the manticore,” Artemis told her, “and any other ancient monsters that may attempt to join Kronos’s forces.” Then, the goddess turned back to Zeus and nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The god announced, “Let the festivities begin!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico had run for the nearest balcony as soon as the meeting was dismissed, having dragged Will along behind him since their hands were already linked. There had been mortal food and drinks brought out by the minor gods and goddesses, so Will picked a few things off a passing tray and forced Nico to eat at least a little bit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was hunched forward in his seat, picking at his fingernails while Will chowed down on a cheeseburger - Nico couldn’t even blame him for his messy eating, since it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>literally</span>
  </em>
  <span> heavenly and Will hadn’t exactly been fed well while chained to that wall. “She didn’t even talk to me about it,” Nico muttered. “She… She’s barely even talked to me for the last </span>
  <em>
    <span>month.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Why would she do this to me?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will set down his cheeseburger and wiped his hands on a napkin before covering Nico’s with his own. “Not to sound insensitive, but she might not have been thinking about you at all. I mean, if there was some boy’s club where you could live forever as long as you promised you wouldn’t ever kiss a girl, wouldn’t you want to join? That sounds pretty cool to me. She’s just...trying to decide her own fate, I guess.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, maybe,” Nico said, shaking his head when he realized that he was getting too caught up on the </span>
  <em>
    <span>never having to kiss a girl for all of eternity</span>
  </em>
  <span> thing. (Did Bianca like girls instead of boys? Is that why she joined? Is that why she had acted so weird around that Rachel girl at the Hoover Dam?) “I just wish she had given me some warning, at least.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will nodded. “Yeah, that part was </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely</span>
  </em>
  <span> unfair.” He squeezed Nico’s hands before releasing them to return to his food. “Anyway, I still think you should try to eat a little more. Some nectar might not hurt, even, but only a little, since you’re not visibly hurt anywhere. More because I don’t think you’ve slept for about two days, and it looks like we’re gonna be here for a while.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine,” Nico told him, already back to picking at his nails. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Nico!” a voice suddenly called out from behind him, and then there was a hand on his head ruffling his hair. He almost swatted the hand away, until he remembered that the chances of that person being a god were life-threateningly high. “Long time no see, kiddo!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will’s jaw dropped, his eyes widening, and the burger started to slip from his fingers. “You… You’re--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Apollo dropped down into the nearest open chair and draped an arm across Nico’s shoulders. “Thanks for taking care of my baby, kid. I knew I could trust you to look out for him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will set the burger down and pushed the plate away. “Apollo? I mean, um, Dad?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s me!” Apollo beamed at his son, and Nico felt like the air around them got a few degrees warmer. “Man, you’ve gotten so much taller since the last time I saw you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You...saw me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course! I check in on you kids all the time,” Apollo explained. “I was watching over you during that quest last summer, and sometimes I peek in at camp. You know, grow a few more inches and I might not be able to tell you and Lee apart anymore.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will’s cheeks turned a rosy pink. “Why don’t you ever visit if you’re always watching?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Apollo waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, you know, Big Daddy Zeus has all these rules about when we can and can’t interfere in our kids’ lives, and I don’t really feel like getting grounded again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Grounded?” Nico asked. “You’re a god.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, you know, when you get all your fun toys taken away, and you’re forced to walk the earth as a mortal for a few weeks until you learn your lesson,” Apollo said plainly, as if either of their moms could just strip them of their powers at will. “Anyway, I would totally visit more often if I could, Will. Oh, and speaking of! How’s your mama? There’s no rule against me visiting her, it’s just that I get caught up in other things, so I haven’t had the time, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>man,</span>
  </em>
  <span> do I miss Naomi Solace.” Apollo gasped. “We should visit her together! How fun would that be? And it’s not against the rules if I’m visiting Naomi and you just happen to show up too.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That would be awesome!” Will exclaimed. “I’ve always wished I had a dad I could do stuff with, and...and now I finally do!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Apollo grinned. “How old are you, thirteen?” Will nodded. “Come back in a couple years and I’ll teach you how to drive with the sun chariot, deal?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can Nico come, too?” Will asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Apollo ruffled Nico’s hair again, and while he didn’t smack the god, he did duck out from under the touch. “Well, as long as he’s not too busy saving the world, sure!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Nico lifted his head again, Bianca was standing beside the table, looking uncomfortable. Good, Nico thought. Serves her right. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nico, can I talk to you about that?” she asked quietly. “About...saving the world?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico wanted to say no, but Apollo clapped him on the shoulder and spoke for him. “That sounds like a great idea, right, Nico?” He stood from his seat and turned to his son to say, “Hey, Will, what do you say I let you meet the horses that pull my chariot, huh? You can even bring that new friend of yours, that girl you all brought with you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will looked to Nico as if for permission, and as much as Nico wanted him to stay, he could see the excitement in Will’s eyes. So he nodded, and Will left with his father. Bianca took Will’s vacated seat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico slumped back in his seat with his arms crossed over his chest, glaring off into the distance so that he wouldn’t have to look at his sister. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nico, you have to let me explain,” she told him, and that made Nico’s blood boil.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Explain </span>
  <em>
    <span>what?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> he demanded. “Explain why you’re abandoning me? It’s hard enough at camp with barely anybody who will talk to us, and with you gone, they’re all gonna think I’m just a </span>
  <em>
    <span>freak</span>
  </em>
  <span> who even scared away his own </span>
  <em>
    <span>sister.</span>
  </em>
  <span> I don’t want to talk to you, Bianca!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m doing this for your own good,” Bianca snapped, then pulled back and took a breath. “Look, if you don’t want to talk, then at least </span>
  <em>
    <span>listen.</span>
  </em>
  <span> When you get back to camp, you need to talk to Chiron right away. He’s been pulling me out of our activities to talk to me about this big prophecy, okay? I don’t know all the details about it yet, because he’s been very tight-lipped about the whole thing, but I know it has something to do with a child of the Big Three turning sixteen.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So?” Nico said. “You’ll be sixteen in, like, two years.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I won’t. Not anymore,” Bianca replied. “But you still get to grow up, and now we all have three years to prepare for whatever’s coming. I… I’m not </span>
  <em>
    <span>abandoning you,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Nico. I’ll still be around, and you can Iris Message me all the time, but… I had to do this, okay? To protect you, just a little while longer. Maybe, now that we have more time to prepare, neither of us will have to die!” </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Die?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Nico repeated as he kicked his chair backwards to make room for him to stand. “The prophecy says that whoever gets to sixteen first is going to </span>
  <em>
    <span>die?</span>
  </em>
  <span> How could you think that this is protecting me? I thought-- I thought I would be </span>
  <em>
    <span>lonely</span>
  </em>
  <span> at camp without you, but now you’re just leaving me here to </span>
  <em>
    <span>die?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Bianca reached out for him, but Nico stepped back. “Nico, no, that’s not--” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know what? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fine,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Nico shouted, balling his hands into fists and feeling the temperature around them drastically drop. “Go hang out with a bunch of </span>
  <em>
    <span>girls</span>
  </em>
  <span> for eternity, and don’t bother coming to visit me in the Underworld when I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>dead.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Nico--!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Without thinking, Nico vanished into the nearest shadow. When he emerged, he found himself inside a horse stable, and just barely managed to jump out of the way when the nearest bright red horse reared back. He jumped out of the pen and slammed the gate shut behind him, then kept his eyes on the creature as he started to back away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico collided with something, and a pair of hands grabbed his shoulders from behind. Nico broke free of the loose hold without any issues, and spun around to face whoever - or </span>
  <em>
    <span>what</span>
  </em>
  <span>ever - was behind him, one hand already reaching for his sword.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you shadow jump here?” Will asked when Nico met his gaze. “You better quit doing that, or else you’re going to pass out again.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico felt his chin quiver and his eyes begin to sting, and the next thing he knew he was throwing his arms around Will’s torso and burying his face in Will’s shoulder as he started to cry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wha--” Will’s arms closed around him, one hand awkwardly patting Nico’s back like he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do in this situation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is he okay?” At the sound of Lou Ellen’s voice, Nico felt his arms tightening around Will. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He just got some very bad news,” Apollo told them. “He just needs a minute to process it. Actually, it might be best if you take him back to camp right about now.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will’s mouth was right next to Nico’s ear when he said, “But--” and Nico could feel the vibration of Will’s voice in his chest. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The solstice is about to end, anyway,” Apollo continued. “And I’ve gotta get all these guys ready to pull the sun. How about I drop you kids outside--” Nico felt a warm hand in his hair once more, “--and then Nico here can call his driver to take you home?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that okay?” Will asked, his voice dropping close to a whisper as his head tipped toward Nico’s.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico took a deep breath, then pulled himself out of Will’s hold. He wiped at his eyes quickly, and nodded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, you three, grab hands,” Apollo instructed. Nico slipped one hand into Will’s easily, though his grip tightened when he saw Will’s other hand closing around Lou’s. Apollo closed the circle, and in a second they were surrounded by a gentle warmth. Nico blinked, and they were standing on the sidewalk outside of the Empire State Building. Apollo released Nico and Lou’s hands, and ruffled their hair once more. “I’ll see you kids around, okay?” Then he stepped forward and kissed the top of Will’s head, and vanished.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jules-Albert pulled up in a familiar black car just as the sun was starting to peek over the horizon. Will claimed the middle seat since Nico had no intention of letting the two of them be separated and he wasn’t about to sit next to Lou Ellen (not that he said that aloud). Nico kept his hand locked with Will’s as Will rambled on about how cool it was to meet his dad, and Nico’s head tipped onto Will’s shoulder somewhere around the point where Will mentioned how jealous his siblings were going to be that he’d met Apollo.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>By the time they finally returned to camp, all three demigods were asleep in the car. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thanks for reading!! next up is sea of monsters but ive planned literally nothing about it so!! again that one might take a while see yall later</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thanks for reading!! make sure yall check out all the other nico birthday event stuff on solangeloweek on tumblr!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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